In Haiti, children are known to eat cakes made of mud to fill their empty stomachs and many families struggle to give their children one meal a day, so providing a relatively easy, free and tasty way to combat hunger goes a long way.

For Haiti’s 300,000 or so children who face malnutrition, a high-calorie, high-protein paste, known as Nourimanba, could prove a lifesaver.

Made from peanuts, milk powder, vegetable oil, and sugar, Nourimanba is similar in taste and texture to peanut butter but with added vitamins and protein.

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In Haiti, nearly a quarter of children aged 6 to 59 months experience chronic malnutrition, according to UNICEF.

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“Kids who need treatment are given a jar of a prescribed amount (of Nourimanba). The treatment lasts from six to 12 weeks. Often for six weeks that’s the only thing kids eat. They take it throughout the day according to a specific prescription,” Dr Mukherjee told Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview from Boston.

Nourimanba is also ready to eat. It doesn’t need mixing with water or refrigeration, and it can be given to children at home.

“This treatment means you don’t have to have children in hospitals for weeks at a time,” said Dr Mukherjee, who is also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

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“Malnutrition is treatable and reversible. You can restore deficits in malnourished children in most cases. After six weeks on the treatment you can start to see the difference. Kids engage and start to make eye contact and smile,” Dr Mukherjee said. “But if chronic malnutrition is not treated your brain doesn’t develop properly.”

Making Nourimanba isn’t that hard, she says. Peanuts make up its main ingredient, which are produced by farmers in Haiti.

It’s hoped the factory will help revive the local economy.

“We source all peanuts locally. We hope to create a virtuous cycle that provides a stable market for local farmers and jobs,” Dr Mukherjee said.

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